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March 28, 2024

In Nevada, Jeb Bush calls Supergirl ‘hot’ and argues for deregulation of federal land

Jeb Bush Speaks at Libre Forum

Steve Marcus

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks with Daniel Garza, executive director of the Libre Initiative, during the Libre Initiative’s policy forum series, “The Libre Forum: Unlimited Opportunities in a Free Society,” at the College of Southern Nevada on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, in North Las Vegas.

Jeb Bush Speaks at Libre Forum

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush arrives onstage to participate in the Libre Initiative's policy forum series, Launch slideshow »

In campaign stops Wednesday in Nevada, Republican candidate Jeb Bush presented his policy agenda on Western lands, calling for a reduction of the role of the federal government and the relocation of the headquarters of the Interior Department from Washington, D.C., to a city in a Western state.

In a discussion organized by the Libre Initiative at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas, Bush also said he favored immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children and praised Nevada’s Education Savings Account school vouchers. But it was an unscripted moment that drew the biggest reaction from the crowd. Asked who his favorite superhero was, Bush replied, “"I saw an ad for 'Supergirl' when I was working out this morning. She looked pretty hot.”

The former Florida governor made different political heat Wednesday morning at the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, calling for Western lands to be managed in a “true partnership” between the federal government and state and local authorities. Bush proposed moving the headquarters of the department to Salt Lake City, Denver or Reno.

Bush’s list of cities drew mild criticism from Rep. Cresent Hardy, R-Nev., who worried that Bush “failed to mention Southern Nevada as a potential home for relocating the Department of the Interior.” Hardy argued that the Las Vegas metro area was “perfectly positioned to house a federal agency dedicated to protecting these lands.”

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert told the Salt Lake City Tribune said he would welcome the move. "Utah would be happy to host the Department of Interior headquarters."

Bush’s proposal came as a surprise to Department of Interior officials, who said they were unaware of any studies of the option in recent memory. Of the Department of the Interior’s 71,935 employees, 93 percent are based outside of Washington. “The majority of our mission is Western facing,” said department spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw," so it makes sense to have an agency that is situated mostly across the West.” The Department maintains a larger office in Denver and smaller ones in Salt Lake City and Reno, as well as hubs in Albuquerque and Boise.

Although Bush’s proposals mirror the positions of many Western Republicans on questions of federal lands, they could also help to position him as a Washington outsider. Bush, who has called for “disrupting Washington,” may be able to use his positions on public land to connect with voters in early-voting Western states, including Nevada, according to Public Opinion Strategies' Lori Weigel.

Bush’s trip coincided with the release of a poll by a Republican polling firm of 500 likely voters in Nevada and Colorado each, on behalf of the Outdoor Industry Association, which found that 77 percent of likely Nevada voters said that public lands, waters and wildlife issues were important in determining which candidate they would support. In a potential pitfall for Bush, although voters in the poll said they shared his concern on conservation issues, a majority of respondents said that they opposed the takeover of management of public lands by the states, with 51 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of independents opposed.

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